Bolsonaro says Brazil may “quit” Paris Agreement

Brazil’s President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro said during a broadcast on social media that he plans to propose changes to the Paris Agreement. “If it doesn’t change, we quit. Why do we have to stay? It’s possibly dangerous for our sovereignty,” he declared Tuesday (Dec. 12).

“Many are out, they didn’t sign it. Why would Brazil have to stay? To be politically correct?” he questioned. The country may not be able to meet the requirements set in the deal by 2030, he said, and could even face “forceful sanctions.” “We won’t be able to reforest an area the size of Rio de Janeiro,” he argued.

Jair Bolsonaro also criticized the Global Compact for Migration, recently signed by the Brazilian government. “We’re all migrants in Brazil, but we can’t fling our doors open wide for [everybody] to just come.”

One must be cautions, he went on to note, about “cultures totally different from ours.” And he mentioned an example: “To come here and marry 11-year-old children... […] We can’t tolerate certain types of people coming to Brazil and disrespecting our culture and our religion,” he said.

Bolsonaro ended his broadcast—which he said he wishes to do on a weekly basis—making comments on the case involving his son Flávio Bolsonaro’s former adviser. A report from the Council for the Control of Financial Activities (COAF) revealed atypical transactions by Fabrício José de Queiroz, who worked at the cabinet of former State Deputy, now Senator-Elect Flávio Bolsonaro, in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro State.

“We have a problem with a former adviser, who used to work for Flávio, atypical activities. [The adviser] will be heard next week. […] If there is something wrong with me or my son, let us pay the bill, but we’re not under investigation,” he noted.

“It hurts our feelings, because we advocate the fiercest fight against corruption. And we’ll turn to COAF itself to fight it,” he pledged.